"And sometimes my soul flickers, As the wind of change blows cold over the mire of repeition, down the corridors of rigmarole"

One performer that I have continued to appreciate over the years is David Gray. I find that I gravitate more towards his older stuff (Before White Ladders) which tends to be quite raw when compared to the production on his most recent albums (A New Day at Midnight, Life in Slow Motion). It is on his early works A Century Ends and Flesh, where his uncut songwriting ability[1] comes through extremely loud. Countless times over the past few years, I have found myself revisiting a few of these songs and being struck by the nakedness and emotion that he wraps into his lyrics. Honestly, if I ever become a singer/songwriter[2] I would love to write songs like his. One song that I have enjoyed lately is “New Horizons” off of Flesh.

A couple of his lines have been stuck in my head lately:

"Things come too easy,I get suspicious
Things come too slow, I get bored
If it don't work out I get superstitious
But if it does, oh my word”

I think it is a great way to explain the constant ebb and flows of our daily lives. Anyways I will let the rest of the song speak for itself.

"Weight on my shoulders
But I'm walking so tall
Out into the new horizon
Wonder in everything
No matter how great or small
Howlin' like the midnight
Howlin' like the midnight sun
And this ain't no pale reflection
This is the real thing
New horizon New horizon within
And your heart ain't yours to control
N o matter how tight the reigns
Love will find it's own direction
A time to reap, a time to sow
And many a time to cry in vain
But now the time to celebrate The glory of this imperfection
Same thing that's scrawled across the stars
Is written under our skin
New horizon New horizon within
Things come too easy, I get suspicious
Things come too slow, I get bored
If it don't work out I get superstitious
But if it does, oh my word
So I'm gathering all the remnants of beauty
From this wilderness in spin
And now I'm gonna light my own flame'
cause I'm charged with the radiance of the dawn
That's been so long breaking
Now there ain't nowhere
There ain't nowhere I won't write your name
There's a time to search for understanding
Sometime you just gotta sing
New horizon New horizon within
Baby there's no need to get precious
When you know that everything must change
Complacency, it can be so vicious
Turn this love into a cage
Same thing that's scrawled across the stars
Is written under our skin
New horizon New horizon within

Albums:
David Gray- Flesh[3]
David Gray- A Century Ends [4]

Songs:
David Gray- New Horizons
David Gray –Shine

[1] I mean He actually used rigmarole in a song
[2] For the record, I did attempt to learn guitar and write my own music in high school. In the end, it was a futile venture as my songs end up sounding like horrible Dashboard Confessional B-sides
[3] Standout Songs: New Horizons, Coming Down, Mystery of Love, Flesh
[4] Standout Songs: Shine, Gathering Dust